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About This Page: This is a discussion on News within the LetsGoKings.com forums, at Los Angeles Kings Hockey Fan Forum. Last week, there was an article where Bruce Garrioch said that Stothers could be the next Kings' coach. Now, a more credible source, ESPN radio's St. Louis person, Andy Strickland,
Last week, there was an article where Bruce Garrioch said that Stothers could be the next Kings' coach. Now, a more credible source, ESPN radio's St. Louis person, Andy Strickland, repeated that possibility.
"Former Grand Rapids Head Coach Mike Stothers name has surfaced as a possible next Head Coach of the LA Kings."
Here is an article describing the background of why Stothers is the former coach of the Griffins:
"This is a guy who coached the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL to two consecutive first round defeats, followed by a resurgence of the organization that led to a 2nd place division finish, and a second round defeat. The team was supposed to contend the next season but underacheived the whole way, to the third barely-.500 season in Stothers' tenure. They lost in the second round. Stothers was then signed by Detroit to coach the Griffins.
They liked him. It was a good idea, in theory. He was a lot like Mike Babcock. Straight shooter, same basic philosophies. That's important. The players don't experience such a shock when they're coming into the NHL, and you're grooming another potential coach for Detroit if and when they ever need a new one.
So today Detroit decided to give control of the Griffins' managment back to the Griffins and they responded by firing Stothers within hours.
The team was a disaster this season. They could have been one of the best in the league -- and they at LEAST should have made the playoffs. Coming off a few of the best years in franchise history, the team was stocked with well-establshed AHL, borderline-NHL players. Brad Ference, Carl Corazzini, Mark Cullen, Mark Hartigan, Randall Gelech, Garrett Stafford, Adam Berkhoel, etc. Then there was a group of Detroit prospects expected to be coming into their own with the team, Ryan Oulahen, Evan McGrath, Jonathan Ericsson, Jimmy Howard, Kyle Quincey. And a few of Detroit's top prospects coming in as rookies, Darren Helm, Jakub Kindl, Johan Ryno, Mattias Ritola.
And you can't say that any one of those guys had a good season. The "veterans" all had awful years, with the exception of Hartigan who played well enough to stick in the NHL. No one could score, and Berkhoel was an awful backup goalie."
"They promptly hired Mike Stothers. This is a guy who coached the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL to two consecutive first round defeats, followed by a resurgence of the organization that led to a 2nd place division finish, and a second round defeat. The team was supposed to contend the next season but underacheived the whole way, to the third barely-.500 season in Stothers' tenure. They lost in the second round."
Wow, Stothers. Underwhelm me some more.
What about Todd Richards, head coach of Scranton/Wilkes Barr Penguins?
"After retiring from playing, Richards spent four seasons as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Admirals. The Admirals advanced to the playoffs each year. In 2004, Milwaukee won the Calder Cup, after sweeping the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in four games.
On August 3, 2006, Richards became the fourth head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. During his first season, he guided Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 51-24-2-4 record and a second-place finish in the AHL’s East Division. The Penguins advanced to the East Division Finals before falling to the Hershey Bears."
They lost this past season in the Calder Cup finals to John Anderson's Chicago Wolves. (Anderson is now the new coach of the Thrashers). It might be good to have a younger(42), ex-defenseman coaching this team. I would think that he might know a little better than some on how to work with the younger and developing players.
Bio:
TODD RICHARDS
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Head Coach
Todd Richards begins his second season as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Named the fourth head coach in franchise history on Aug. 3, 2006, he guided Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 51-24-2-4 record and a second-place finish (108 points) in the AHL’s East Division. The Penguins advanced to the East Division Finals before falling to Hershey.
Richards, 40, came to the Penguins after spending four seasons as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Admirals. During that time the Admirals made four playoff appearances, advancing to the Calder Cup Finals twice. Milwaukee captured the league’s championship by sweeping Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in four games in 2004.
A proven winner at every level, Richards joined the Admirals coaching staff after a successful 13-year professional career that included championships in the International Hockey League, American Hockey League and Swiss B League.
A defenseman during his playing days, Richards was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round (33rd overall) of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, and began his career with the club’s AHL affiliate in Sherbrooke during the 1989-90 season.
The Crystal, Minnesota, native was traded to the Hartford Whalers organization early the next season, spending the majority of the campaign with the Springfield Indians, with whom he captured a Calder Cup title. He also made his NHL debut with the Whalers during the season, recording four assists and two penalty minutes in two games.
Richards joined the International Hockey League’s Las Vegas Thunder prior to the 1993-94 season, and was named the league’s top defender as a member of the team during the 1994-95 campaign. He spent the next six seasons as a member of the Orlando Solar Bears, captaining the squad for four seasons and winning and IHL championship with the club in 2000-01, the league’s final year of existence.
Richards concluded his playing career with Servette Geneve of Switzerland in 2001-02, helping the club to a Swiss B League title. He was also singled out for his individual contributions, as he was named the league’s top defenseman.
Prior to turning pro, Richards spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota. He was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association rookie of the year in 1985-86, was a member of the WCHA Second All-Star Team three consecutive seasons (1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89) and served as team captain during his senior season. During his collegiate career, the Golden Gophers won two WCHA championships (1987-88 and 1988-89) and were NCAA runners-up once, falling to Harvard in the 1989 title game.
Last edited by Since 1967; June 25th, 2008 at 03:27 PM.
There had to be good reasons why the Griffins fired Stothers. Anyway, we need a coach with experience taking a losing team & making them win. Place a former defenseman in charge of young, upcoming defensive talent. The Kings wouldn't be so "hard to coach" if one was hired who could properly motivate them. Move against the "usual" AHL coaches who already have a built in excuse if they fail here. Martinson has already coached in SoCal. So what if the teams were either IHL or ECHL. His philosophy regarding hockey is similar to the formula Randy Carlisle used that made the Ducks mighty.
If Stothers was helpless watching the Griffins fail, how can he be expected to come up w/answers here if Kings continue losing? Going from a Red Wings affiliate to...here?! We can cuss & discuss Stothers night & day, but I don't see him winning here.
if we dont get this coaching decision right were never going to get out of the cellar. crawford already delayed our rebuilding phase enough. we should of had a new coach at the start of last year.
Carla Muller
Next Kings' Coach - Mike Stothers? 
